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Simmons on pole after Pasma penalty

28 Jul 18

Pasma quickest in qualifying, but penalty sees Simmons take pole for round 16.

Pasma on pole for round 18 courtesy of quickest second-fastest lap.

28 JULY, 2018 – Arden’s Patrik Pasma was quickest in qualifying at Snetterton for the F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost, but Ayrton Simmons will start from pole in round 16 due to Pasma taking a 10 place grid penalty handed to him at Croft.

Pasma just got the better of JHR Developments driver Ayrton Simmons on the timesheet, both drivers putting in excellent qualifying performances. The latter looked likely to take his fourth pole of the season, but Pasma’s flyer in the closing stages just bettered his time. A lap of 1m 51.266s left the pair separated by only 0.009s at the end of proceedings.

“It wasn’t a perfect lap, but it was still good enough for P1,” said Pasma. “We now need to concentrate on the races. It’s going to be a busy day. We need to keep our heads down and work hard.

“I was second-last with about 10 minutes left on the clock, but I stayed calm. We didn’t have many laps, but the laps we did get were excellent.

“Our race pace is looking strong so I go into the races with plenty of confidence this weekend.”

“I went off on my last lap after working out where I could improve on the previous lap,” added Simmons. “I tried to go flat in turn one, but it didn’t quite work out.

“It’s an amazing result to have qualified on the front row considering where we were yesterday. We were very much on the back foot due to technical problems. The team have done fantastic work.

“Starting at the front is good, but obviously we want to win so there’s still work to be done in the race.

“There’s a little bit of a gap to Jewiss at the top of the standings, but qualifying ahead of him is a good start and now we need to make sure we outscore him in the race.”

Dennis Hauger (Arden) was quickest rookie and will start on the front row following Pasma’s penalty. Meanwhile, championship leader Kiern Jewiss (Double R Racing) had to settle for a second row grid slot, citing the windy conditions as having hampered his performance.

Jack Doohan (Arden) and Johnathan Hoggard (Fortec Motorsports) set identical lap times and completed the quintet all within four tenths of Pasma’s pole lap.